New York
New York has left me somewhat incoherent. In that spirit, here are my scattered thoughts.
New York pizza is delicious, but not unique to New York. You can live many places and enjoy New York style pizza. As a result, NY pizza does not constitute a reason for living in NYC, any more than champagne provides a reason to live in France, or movies a reason to live in Hollywood.
I saw a dog pick up a styrofoam cup in its mouth and carry it off down the street. The woman walking the dog said, "Clean up the streets!" The weird thing is, the dog had already picked up the cup. I guess it was more of a general sentiment, not a specific command.
People around NYU smoke like chimneys. Walking down the sidewalk is almost as bad as being in a Chicago bar, while being in a NY bar is presumably much nicer.
You can get Magic Hat beer in NYC, and that does constitute a reason to live there, or at least a reason to live somewhere on the eastern seaboard.
Every time I rode the subway, someone attractive was on the train. "But James, that's tautological," you're thinking. Not so! I'm ugly.
My experience of race was somewhat different in NYC than anywhere else I've been. Blacks and whites commingled freely, and racial tensions seemed muted. On the other hand, I take it the city is still fairly segregated, and I certainly saw a lot more black faces in Harlem than I did around NYU. Race seemed like less of an issue than in other cities, though.
People are nicer than you might think, but it's still New York. I took the M60 bus to LaGuardia. Initially I was at the corner of 125th and Lexington (I think), but several people told me the bus wasn't stopping there (the marathon caused a detour). So that's good - people went out of their way to help me out. On the other hand, the reason I didn't figure it out myself is that someone had torn down the notices put up by the MTA. That's the kind of needless shit that makes me angry.
I saw quite a few White Sox hats.
Central Park is ugly. I'm not saying it's not nice - undoubtedly it's a great place for sports and relaxation and whatnot. Still, the stone is a really grim brown color, nature at its dullest. It doesn't inspire anything except maybe deep depression.
Is everyone in NYC rich? It doesn't look like it, but housing prices would seem to dictate that result. Anyway food is reasonably priced, for the most part, although there aren't enough supermarkets.
Subways are a weird mix of awesomeness and disrepair.
In conclusion, New York is not as good as Chicago, but it's still an excellent city. I'd go so far as to say that it's among the best cities I've ever been in. Hopefully I'll get a job there, and then I can drink Magic Hat and hate on the Yankees from up close.
New York pizza is delicious, but not unique to New York. You can live many places and enjoy New York style pizza. As a result, NY pizza does not constitute a reason for living in NYC, any more than champagne provides a reason to live in France, or movies a reason to live in Hollywood.
I saw a dog pick up a styrofoam cup in its mouth and carry it off down the street. The woman walking the dog said, "Clean up the streets!" The weird thing is, the dog had already picked up the cup. I guess it was more of a general sentiment, not a specific command.
People around NYU smoke like chimneys. Walking down the sidewalk is almost as bad as being in a Chicago bar, while being in a NY bar is presumably much nicer.
You can get Magic Hat beer in NYC, and that does constitute a reason to live there, or at least a reason to live somewhere on the eastern seaboard.
Every time I rode the subway, someone attractive was on the train. "But James, that's tautological," you're thinking. Not so! I'm ugly.
My experience of race was somewhat different in NYC than anywhere else I've been. Blacks and whites commingled freely, and racial tensions seemed muted. On the other hand, I take it the city is still fairly segregated, and I certainly saw a lot more black faces in Harlem than I did around NYU. Race seemed like less of an issue than in other cities, though.
People are nicer than you might think, but it's still New York. I took the M60 bus to LaGuardia. Initially I was at the corner of 125th and Lexington (I think), but several people told me the bus wasn't stopping there (the marathon caused a detour). So that's good - people went out of their way to help me out. On the other hand, the reason I didn't figure it out myself is that someone had torn down the notices put up by the MTA. That's the kind of needless shit that makes me angry.
I saw quite a few White Sox hats.
Central Park is ugly. I'm not saying it's not nice - undoubtedly it's a great place for sports and relaxation and whatnot. Still, the stone is a really grim brown color, nature at its dullest. It doesn't inspire anything except maybe deep depression.
Is everyone in NYC rich? It doesn't look like it, but housing prices would seem to dictate that result. Anyway food is reasonably priced, for the most part, although there aren't enough supermarkets.
Subways are a weird mix of awesomeness and disrepair.
In conclusion, New York is not as good as Chicago, but it's still an excellent city. I'd go so far as to say that it's among the best cities I've ever been in. Hopefully I'll get a job there, and then I can drink Magic Hat and hate on the Yankees from up close.
posted by James | 2:30 PM
3 Comments:
"New York pizza is delicious, but not unique to New York. You can live many places and enjoy New York style pizza. As a result, NY pizza does not constitute a reason for living in NYC, any more than champagne provides a reason to live in France, or movies a reason to live in Hollywood."
This statement isn't entirely coherent. Chapagne and movies are commodities that are, at least in today's world, primarily produced for export. I would gander that the vast majority of movies are viewed outside of hollywood and the vast majority of champagne is consumed outside of France. New York style Pizza, however, is not as clearly designed for, or even capable of, export. The product one receives when one purchases 'new york style' pizza in bombay, for example, will vary considerably from pizza actually purchased in New York City in ways that a movie will not. Indeed, this is especially true of perishable food items for the superiority of local items are often derived from variables such as type/quality of water, freshness of ingredients and local expertise in preparation. Examples abound: Guinness in Ireland is qualitatively different than Guinness in the United States, Chinese food in China is qualitatively different than Chinese food in America, etc.
This statement isn't entirely coherent.
ouch.
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